While upper-middle class, western cybergeeeks might be the strongest supporters of cryptocurrencies, there is tremendous potential for the poor and marginalized of the world to also see benefits from these technologies.

Whether they are from an impoverished urban community in the United States or an isolated village in the Sri Lankan highlands, many people are disadvantaged by not being able to access banking infrastructure or credit. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies offer many opportunities that can help these disadvantaged individuals, communities, and countries. These technologies have the potential to help the poor by reducing excessive remittance fees, giving greater access to financial institutions, combating inflation and perhaps even helping to end corruption.

Cryptocurrencies Can Reduce Remittance Fees to Developing Nations

It's not uncommon for those in developing countries to have relatives in wealthier societies who send them money. For years, they have been at the mercy of services such as Western Union, which charge exorbitant fees. Startups have been forming in various countries that allow their users to send money at a much cheaper rate. A great example is

Cryptocurrencies Can Give Marginalized Individuals Greater Access to Banking

Many people from the developed world take their credit cards and bank accounts for granted. It can be hard to imagine that up to

"Access to financial services can be a bridge out of poverty," said the organization's president, Jim Yong Kim.

While traditional banking services may be trying to work their way into this multi-billion person market, cryptocurrency related services are also offering opportunities so that the worlds poorest can engage with the system. These technologies give them a way to have a global bank account that can be accessed through an open source wallet, via the internet. With

Combating Inflation with Cryptocurrencies

Unstable currencies are a big problem for many developing nations. One of the classic examples is Zimbabwe, whose dollar had a peak monthly inflation rate of

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin give those in unstable economies another option to protect themselves against inflation. This is one of the reasons that the first live Bitcoin exchange in the world was

Some Theorize that Cryptocurrencies Can Help to Reduce Corruption

One thing that most people don't realize about Bitcoin is that it is not truly anonymous, it is pseudonymous. This is because the public ledger allows anyone to verify and analyze transactions. The Bitcoin address of every sender and recipient is permanently recorded. With the right police work, it can be tied to a person identity, as has been seen on

Cryptocurrencies Have the Potential to Help Those Who Need it Most